Black Belly Wife

byきつね-November 19, 2021

Continued from the previous chapter →

East Guardian patted North Guardian's shoulder with infinite sympathy while giving a 'brother, I'm sorry for your loss' look before asking Chu Changge, "Does Leader have another arrangement for us?"

"Mm." Chu Changge gave him an approving glance and instructed, "You guys split into two groups to invite Emperor Tian and Emperor Ye to the capital to meet their little nephew, respectively."

The four of them were instantly overjoyed. "As you command!" They were the best at such things as inviting people. [T/C]

After the four men left, Murong Yunshu asked, "If you do this, aren't you afraid that Old General Liu will kill you once he's back in Jinling? He had fiercely warned that he would cut down anyone who advocated reconciliation."

Chu Changge raised his eyebrows. "That's why I made him the Grand Marshal." When Old General Liu returned from the frontline, Chu Changge would have settled the general situation.

Murong Yunshu suddenly realised Chu Changge's act of accepting Old General Liu's advice to send troops to suppress Hua Yeli and Hua Tiancheng's allied army was actually luring the tiger out of the mountains move. Old General Liu was clearly promoted but, in fact, demoted and sent to the frontier.

"I suddenly realised that you are really very suitable to be an Emperor." Just take the matter of making Old General Liu the Grand Marshal. Even she had not discovered Chu Changge's true intentions. It was indeed tough to guess a ruler's heart.

Chu Changge was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled and stated, "If I hadn't met you, this statement wouldn't be able to hold true."

Murong Yunshu understood the meaning of his words and silently grabbed his hand, as his words had deeply moved her heart.

A person who took personal feelings too seriously was not fit to be an Emperor, and Chu Changge was such a person.

*

Apart from arranging to move the centre of Murong Mansion's operations to the capital, Murong Yunshu and Chu Changge had one more important thing to do in Jinling——making a clean break with Fang Hongfei.

Fang Hongfei was like a fishbone stuck in their throats. As long as he was not dead, they would not be able to rest easy. The translator would also not be at ease when she saw this chapter, not only at xinshou blogspot com.

It was about time for them to do something about it.

As soon as Chu Changge was sure that Chu Murong had arrived safely in the capital, he released the news that he would be waiting at Murong Mansion for the presence of Fang Hongfei, the Great Leader of Martial Arts.

This news was like a huge boulder, shattering the illusion of calm in the jianghu.

Soon, more and more people from the jianghu, some familiar, some unfamiliar, some friends, some enemies, hung around the Murong Mansion. They were a mix of fish and dragons who came from Three Religions and Nine Schools. People from all over the country and worldwide had come to Jinling to watch the battle between the two great masters of black and white, good and evil. In fact, in most of their minds, the winner was already decided. But they still came anyway, holding on to the chance that a miracle might happen.

No matter how bad Fang Hongfei was, he was still the Great Leader of Martial Arts. No matter how good Chu Changge was, he was still the Sect Leader of Mojiao Sect after all.

*

After Murong Yunshu settled her business affairs, she became an idle wife again. When Chu Changge practised with his sword, she would pluck her qin. While Chu Changge rested, she would accompany him drinking tea and chatting. When she had nothing else to do, she would just bask in the sun.

On this day, the two of them were sunbathing in the yard again.

"Do you think Fang Hongfei will come?" Murong Yunshu asked, squinting at the blazing sun overhead.

Chu Changge was polishing his sword at the time. When he heard this question, he stopped to think about it for a moment before answering, "He will come."

Murong Yunshu: "Why is that?"

Chu Changge: "There is no reason for him not to come."

Murong Yunshu: "But it's already been a month. If he wanted to come, he would have come a long time ago."

This question had also crossed Chu Changge's mind. But since Fang Hongfei had made his appearance in Jinling, he must have come for them. Now that Chu Changge had personally opened the door and waited for him to appear, there was no reason for Fang Hongfei not to. But the news had been out for a month. So, there was no way it hadn't reached his ears yet, right?

What on earth prevented him from coming?

*

After waiting for a few more days, the Murong Mansion finally received a guest.

Chu Changge looked at the uninvited 'guest' who had entered by climbing over the wall. After a long silence, he greeted that person lightly, "Brother Li."

This 'Brother Li' caused Li Wunai's face to show a surprise expression, followed by a self-deprecating bitter smile. "To be able to hear this 'Brother Li' from you, my trip today was not in vain."

Chu Changge did not respond as he was waiting for him to continue with his words.

Li Wunai did not speak right away, though. He stared at Chu Changge for a long time before saying, "Today, I have come to clear you from the Shaolin Temple injustice."

Chu Changge said indifferently, "Thank you. But it's not necessary."

"Why? Now that all the major sects are around Murong Mansion, I can immediately clear the grievances you bear as long as I say you are innocent. No one will ever again think that you are the murderer of the Shaolin Temple."

Chu Changge smiled contemptuously and said, "There is no need for that." Seeing Li Wunai's frown, he added, "Brother Li has known me for a long time, so you should know that I don't mind being the scapegoat."

"I know, but I don't understand." Li Wunai pointed out, "Many things were obviously not done by you, so why didn't you deny them? Watching your reputation turn bad but not doing anything about it as if no matter how notorious it is, it wouldn't affect you."

At those words, Chu Changge curled his lips and laughed out loud. His laughter sounded very unruly and unrestrained in Li Wunai's opinion.

"Why are you suddenly laughing?" Li Wunai asked.

Chu Changge: "I'm laughing at you noble sects that are always being burdened by your good reputation."

Li Wunai frowned. "You truly don't care about anything?"

"Of course, I have things I care about. It's just not those false reputations." At this point, Chu Changge glanced at Murong Yunshu.

Li Wunai understood that Chu Changge had obtained the most precious thing in his world with this one glance. The rest, fame and profit, were not as important to him as that person. Because he already had something more substantial, everything else was secondary. Thus, he was not eager in clearing his name and did not mind being called a great demon——of course, he could not be considered a good person either. As long as he was innocent and good in Murong Yunshu's eyes, that was enough.

Being good or bad in the eyes of others didn't matter to Chu Changge. Not at all......

After thinking about it, Li Wunai also smiled with a long-lost relieved smile, "Nevertheless, I still have to do what I should do."

Chu Changge raised his eyebrows and was about to ask Li Wunai what he was going to do when he heard him bellowed in a loud voice, "Fellow martial artists hiding around Murong Mansion, listen carefully! The person who has flooded the Shaolin Temple with blood is not Chu Changge, but Fang Hongfei, the young master of the Mingjian Mountain Villa and the Great Leader of Martial Arts!"

Before Li Wunai hardly finished speaking, Sect Leader Mo of the Wudang School appeared and asked, "Is this true?" Then, other martial artists from various schools and sects appeared one after another.

Li Wunai: "This is unquestionably true."

Sect Leader Mo: "Do you have the proof?"

Li Wunai replied, "I have already avenged the Shaolin Temple."

When this statement came out, the whole audience gasped. For Li Wunai to finally avenge the Shaolin Temple......did this mean that he had killed Fang Hongfei, the Great Leader of Martial Arts?

Chu Changge was also surprised. Then it dawned on him. No wonder Fang Hongfei had delayed in showing himself. It turned out that he had already died at the hands of Li Wunai.

After a moment of silence, Chu Changge threw a yellowing book of martial arts secrets to Li Wunai.

Li Wunai reached out to catch it and asked, "What is this?" Then he held the book upright and looked at it. "The Yijin Jing!"

"That was entrusted to me by the former host of Shaolin before he died. Now I'm handing it back to you, which is a fulfilment of the master's last wish." Chu Changge said.

Li Wunai held the copy of Yijin Jing. The scene of him learning the art in Shaolin Temple was vivid in his mind, and his eyes could not help getting wet. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

*

Three months later, Li Wunai officially shaved his head and rebuilt Shaolin Temple. At the same time, he sent out notable personage invitations, inviting all sect leaders to Shaolin for his shaving ceremony. Murong Yunshu also received an invitation. This made Chu Changge feel very strange. Arguably, he could be considered the jianghu middleman. Three months ago, he had officially cleared of any wrongdoing after a talk at Murong Mansion. Furthermore, he had married into the Murong Mansion, and others could say that he had half of his feet on the white path. Thus, Li Wunai should have sent the invitation to him, but why was it sent to her instead? Moreover, he and Li Wunai were sworn brothers. Hence, how could he not be present at such a big event as Li Wunai's head-shaving to become a monk?

"Please confirm again whether there is an invitation for Chu Changge." Chu Changge said to the young monk who delivered the notable personage invitations. 

The young monk shook his head. "The host only said that the invitation would be given to Murong Yunshu, the young mistress of the Murong Mansion."

"Then did he say that I could go with her?"

"No. The host didn't mention anyone else."

Chu Changge waved his hand in immense frustration to indicate that the young monk could take his leave. Then, he brought the red notable personage invitation with the words 'Murong Yunshu' printed in gold and walked to the study. First, he threw the invitation onto the table, then threw himself into the armchair without saying a word.

At that time, Murong Yunshu was busily plucking the abacus. When she noticed Chu Changge's actions, she glanced at him strangely, then opened the invitation with a puzzled face. A moment later, she closed and put it aside while asking with a smirk, "Did you not receive one?"

"Did you bribe Li Wunai?" Chu Changge listlessly asked instead of answering her question.

"Yes." Murong Yunshu answered unusually straightforwardly.

Chu Changge was startled when he heard this as he jerked his eyes open and sat upright. "He is just a poor monk. Why did you have to bribe him?"

Murong Yunshu replied very calmly, "To accumulate merit."

"......how much did you give him?"

"I don't know. I am still counting." After saying that, Murong Yunshu lowered her head and continued to dial the abacus. [+]

Chu Changge's face was full of black lines. "Didn't you count the silver first before giving them to him?"

Murong Yunshu looked up innocently. "I didn't know how much money was needed to rebuild the Shaolin beforehand."

"What?!" Chu Changge exclaimed with his eyes wide open. "You sponsored silver to that guy to rebuild the Shaolin Temple?"

Murong Yunshu raised her eyebrows calmly. "Otherwise, you think he sold his body for it?"

"……"

"You said it yourself. He's just a poor monk. Selling his body won't fetch him much money."

"......" He knew that friendship between brothers was nothing like silver in the eyes of that fake monk.

Vulgar! Truly vulgar!

Chu Changge cursed Li Wunai in his heart for being so unkind.

At that moment, Murong Yunshu added, "In fact, I'm accumulating merit for Little Murong."

"Little Murong hasn't done anything immoral either."

"He will eventually."

"……"

*

Soon, the day for Li Wunai to officially shave his head came. One by one, various sect leaders went up to Shaolin Temple. Chu Changge also went——in the capacity of a family member.

This was the first time he had attended a big gathering in the martial arts world as a family member. Alas, things had changed. Things had indeed changed!

Chu Changge was very depressed all the way until he arrived at the entrance of Shaolin Temple and saw the inscription on the right side of a huge stone tablet——to deliver all living creatures from suffering.

Signed: Xin Ming, Chu Changge.

Xin Ming was Li Wunai's clerical name. And Chu Changge......was undoubtedly Chu Changge, the Sect Leader of the Mojiao Sect.

Chu Changge stared blankly at the three characters written in the style of dragons flying and phoenixes dancing on the stone tablet. He almost mistook them for his own because the handwriting was so similar to his. The only person in the world who could imitate his writing to such an extent was no other than the wondrous beauty on his left-hand side.